Seven electric cars Tesla were completely engulfed in flames in the early hours of Saturday at a car dealership in Ottersberg, in northern Germany, on the same day when protest actions against the American magnate Elon Musk, owner of this car manufacturer and right-hand man of White House chief Donald Trump, are scheduled worldwide.
The vehicles caught fire around 03:30 in the morning (02:30 GMT), as reported by the firefighters cited by the media.
The police indicated that the fire was quickly extinguished, although residents were advised to keep doors and windows closed due to the intense smoke.
The cars, which were completely charred, will be removed by a specialized company.
It is still unclear if the fire is related to the global protest day called against Tesla and Musk. According to the police, an investigation has been opened into the causes, and witnesses who can provide information about what happened are being sought to determine if it was a deliberate act or a technical defect.
Authorities estimated the damages in several hundred thousand euros.
Recently, attacks against car dealerships and parked Tesla vehicles have become more frequent, as reported by the Efe agency.
Two days ago, three Tesla cars were vandalized in the city of Hannover. According to the police, the perpetrators sprayed slogans such as "KillElon", leading to an investigation for a politically motivated crime.
Meanwhile, activists from "Neue Generation" (New Generation), emerged from the extinct climate movement "Letzte Generation" ("Last Generation"), mainly known for lying on the asphalt as a form of protest, announced demonstrations throughout Germany against Musk for this Saturday.
"The reason is Musk's fascist and deliberately antidemocratic influence in the United States and his support for the far-right in Europe," they wrote in a statement, explicitly referring to the magnate's backing of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Sympathizers of "Neue Generation" are protesting on Saturday in showrooms, dealerships, charging points, and other Tesla infrastructures in several German cities such as Berlin, Munich, Nuremberg, and Duisburg.
"Elon Musk was once considered a pioneer of the ecological future. But those who look behind the facade of his Tesla brand today do not see a climate savior, but a wealthy technological oligarch working with Donald Trump on a future that destroys the climate and democracy, also in Germany. This is precisely why our protest is specifically aimed at Tesla," said Joyce Fiedler, one of the participants in the demonstration at an exhibition center in Berlin.
According to the organizers of the global protest action, actions are planned in showrooms and Tesla centers in Karlsruhe, Koblenz, Dortmund, Hamburg, Braunschweig, Kesselsdorf (near Dresden), and Berlin, as well as at the site of the American manufacturer's plant in Grünheide.